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Gunman in Brisbane Mall

ELEANOR HALL: There are reports of a gunman in the Brisbane Mall and that police have told the public to clear the area.

Annie Guest joins us again now on the line.

Annie what can you tell us?

ANNIE GUEST: Well, Eleanor it is this literally a very, a recently breaking situation. We were alerted by an ABC reporter who was in the city at the time and she said police told her to run out of the mall.

Other witnesses say they saw an armed man with a small gun, heavily armed police in the mall.

A shop assistant called Beatrice Timofte has just spoken to one of our reporters, John Taylor and here's what she had to say.

BEATRICE TIMOFTE: Okay, so far we just saw one man running in the middle of Queen Street Mall just where the stage is with police following him on bikes and on foot. They've just pointing tasers and a gun to him right now. I'm just going to run and hide.

Um, they're telling us to stay back. They've closed the Myer Centre, there's I think a taxi as well just because there is no one in uniform. I assume they…

JOHN TAYLOR: So what can you see right now then?

BEATRICE TIMOFTE: Right now I'm hiding in the back of the store. I'm seeing about one, two, three, four, six policemen. One just ran past with a gun and the guy is wearing just shorts and that's it. He's pretty, he's got tattoos all over his body as well.

ELEANOR HALL: And that's an eye witness to the events in Brisbane Mall right now, shop assistant Beatrice Timofte.

Annie, so have you heard any more from the police?

ANNIE GUEST: Other than to confirm the situation and to confirm that they've evacuated the mall, we've heard that. We've heard that it is an emergency situation and that ambulance, Queensland Ambulance Service is on standby but there are no reports of injuries or shots being fired, but it has frightened people in the mall and Beatrice Timofte gives us a sense of that here.

BEATRICE TIMOFTE: It is definitely tense. The customers and the people are freaking out. We all let them all out through the back door, we let them out into the back of the mall really but it is pretty tense, everyone is on their guard.